Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 24

Chapter 24

At Eugene’s gesture, Nasiri handed over a postcard. Eugene gave it to Hisha.

“Here.”

Hisha took the postcard and turned it over to the front. It had a picture of small salt mounds lined up in the Uyuni Salt Flats. It looked slightly faded as if it had been bought from a local souvenir shop.

“What is this?”

Hisha asked, unable to understand the reason for giving it.

“You’d send a postcard while on a trip, wouldn’t you?”

“I do, but…”

“Write that you’re doing well. You can also talk about the star-filled sky of Uyuni that’s so breathtaking.”

Hisha looked at Eugene, surprised that she knew such things.

“Have you been there?”

“No, I read about it in a book.”

Eugene said nonchalantly and handed over a pen. Hisha reluctantly took the pen.

“But how am I going to send this…?”

“You’re worrying about everything. Don’t worry. It’ll be safely and quickly delivered with the Uyuni postmark. Now, extend your arm.”

While saying this, Eugene picked up a syringe from the silver tray that Nasiri had put down, and Hisha looked at her with uneasy eyes.

“Why? You’re not trying to put a bomb in me or anything, right?”

Eugene chuckled.

“What I need is your biological information. What good would a bomb do? Plus, manufacturing bombs small enough to enter the human body is a serious violation of the law. It could even get us labeled as a terrorist organization. I’m just going to draw some blood.”

As she spoke, she wrapped a tourniquet around Hisha’s arm, and the elastic material inside automatically tightened around his arm. Eugene pierced the visible vein with the needle. As dark red blood swirled and filled the syringe, she spoke.

“I don’t know what you think of us, but this is a pharmaceutical company. We save lives, not take them, especially not in ways that the law and ethics prohibit.”

Eugene withdrew the needle and firmly pressed a hemostatic sticker on the spot. Then, she held the blood vial up to the ceiling light, examining it like a gem appraiser. The light passing through the blood in the vial cast a red shadow in her eyes.

Eugene lowered her gaze and placed the vial in the case Nasiri had opened.

“We just took a small donation of your blood.”

Then she chuckled as if something had come to mind.

“It seems we have quite an evil image if you thought we’d implant a bomb.”

Hisha scratched behind his ear.

“Sorry if I misunderstood. Given the circumstances…”

He was indeed honest and straightforward. Eugene also thought he must be surprised and confused by the situation.

At that moment, Hisha glanced around and asked.

“So, is there a prototype?”

Eugene put one hand on her hip.

“I figured ISLE would try to destroy the prototype, but I didn’t expect Hisha Ivanov to show up.”

He probably planned to quietly find the prototype and leave, unaware of his own value.

An ordinary young man wouldn’t have dared to undertake such an endeavor, but with his exceptional physical abilities, he didn’t hesitate to venture alone into what was practically enemy territory.

“One thing is certain.”

Eugene turned away and smiled faintly.

“You will complete our research.”

* * *

‘Did I accidentally provide something crucial?’

Hisha thought seriously.

While it was nice that Eugene was happy, her words made it seem like his blood was the key to unlocking the secret of the virus.

Buzz.

At that moment, Hisha, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor and leaning against the bars, turned his head at the sound of the door opening.

Eugene entered, wearing a doctor’s gown, accompanied by two young female secretaries he hadn’t seen before. Eugene was wearing a green silk blouse and a black skirt under the gown, with flesh-colored stockings and black stiletto heels. She looked elegant, beautiful, and intellectual.

However, Eugene looked puzzled when she saw Hisha.

“Why are you shirtless?”

Hisha, wearing only pants, shrugged.

“I spilled food while eating, but they didn’t bring me a new one.”

It seemed that the staff monitoring him hadn’t reported such a trivial matter to Eugene, despite being told to report everything related to Hisha Ivanov, no matter how minor.

“Did you come from work?”

Hisha asked with a playful smile and a friendly tone.

“You look good in that outfit too.”

Even before, Eugene had found it hard to believe this charming person was supposed to be a terrifying vampire. Was he more like a Jindo dog?

She was beginning to think there might have been a mistake, but Hisha squinted his eyes.

“Did you just have an inappropriate thought?”

Eugene released her grip on her waist. Surprisingly, she seemed quite perceptive.

“Swear you won’t try to escape.”

“I swear.”

Hisha replied obediently. With that, Eugene unlocked the door, entered, and handed the key to the female secretary outside. The secretary took the key and left.

Watching Eugene approach with a tray, Hisha spoke.

“This situation feels kind of sexy.”

Eugene, sitting beside him, told him not to say useless things.

“Turn to face me.”

Following her words, Eugene took a pair of medical gloves from the tray and put them on. Then, she shone a flashlight into Hisha’s eyes and examined them. It felt like a health check-up she had often undergone since childhood.

“I’ve met your father before.”

Eugene said as she put the flashlight away. Hisha looked puzzled.

“My father?”

“Yes. At a party on a ship when I was young.”

Now that she mentioned it, Leah had talked about a cruise once.

Eugene checked inside Hisha’s mouth as she continued speaking.

“When I first saw you, I felt you resembled your father, but I never imagined you were Hisha Ivanov. You feel very different from him.”

“Different?”

“Think about your father.”

Following that, Hisha looked upwards, recalling his father. Then he looked back at Eugene and shrugged.

“I often hear that. I look like my father but resemble my mother more.”

“Anyway, I haven’t seen him since that day, so I couldn’t thank him.”

“Thank him?”

“There was a bomb attack on that cruise.”

She said it as if she were discussing today’s lunch menu. Hisha was stunned.

“A bomb…?”

“I heard your father blocked the explosion with his body, reducing the casualties.”

Eugene continued with a calm expression.

Now that she mentioned it, Hisha vaguely remembered hearing about such an incident before he was born. At that time, both his father and uncle had been in mortal danger. But he never thought it was related to Eugene.

While he was lost in thought, Eugene spoke again.

“Our entire family was on that cruise. We left before the attack, so we were all safe, but…”

A burning palace of light and sparks scattering in all directions…

Returning from her recollection, Eugene looked at the man with eyes as red as the flames that had burned that day.

“That incident was a significant turning point for our family. My mother realized she could die at any moment.”

And she might have thought she could no longer live with Heinrich, a man entangled with dangerous people who would blow up a cruise ship.

For Eugene, it wasn’t something she could know for sure, but one thing was certain: after the cruise incident, her mother decided she would no longer suppress her feelings.

“Not long after, my mother left home to live with the man she loved.”

Hearing this, Hisha’s expression became complicated, unsure of what to say. Eugene chuckled lightly.

“Don’t make that face. My mother never regretted that choice until the day she died.”

Eugene’s mother, Meilin, might have been grateful for that incident, which freed her from the futility of clinging to a husband who didn’t love her.

“And what about you, Eugene?”

Hisha asked, and Eugene looked back at him. Hisha asked seriously.

“Do you regret not following your mother?”

“No, I don’t.”

It wasn’t just because she felt like a dutiful daughter who helped her mother gain freedom from her father. Eugene believed that this place was her rightful place, more than anywhere else in the world. Eugene Fuger-Dulloch—that was her name and her identity.

“Can I ask you something?”

Hisha asked.

“Sure.”

“What do you plan to do with something like the Luax virus? Is it to inherit the family? But with your abilities, you could succeed without inheriting the family, right?”

“The Ivanov family is Homo Novus.”

Eugene said out of the blue. Hisha blinked.

“Homo… what?”

He scratched the back of his head.

“Why does everyone use such difficult words?”

Eugene looked at Hisha, murmuring.

“It seems you haven’t taken any business classes.”

“Why would I?”

Hisha looked puzzled, then realized.

“Oh, because of ISLE? It’s not something I’m going to inherit anyway. And just so you know, it’s not that I lack common sense. Everyone else just uses overly complicated words.”

Ignoring that comment, Eugene continued.

“Ivanov is a relatively new family. Regardless of your father’s age, the family’s history spans only two generations…”

Then Eugene looked directly at Hisha.

“But the Fuger-Dulloch family has been rooted in this land for centuries, passing from generation to generation. It’s not that history is precious, but because of that, we are responsible for many people now. My siblings are not proper people; they ignore their duties and only want to inherit rights.”

Without waiting for Hisha to respond, Eugene continued.

“What if someone else comes in? I understand the Fuger-Dulloch family the best. If someone else inherits it, I might have to leave this estate immediately. But if they don’t appreciate the value of this estate? If they don’t know or care about the people working here?”

It was a burning sense of responsibility, almost frighteningly intense.

Hisha had never thought about it that way before. While he felt grateful to the people who worked at his home or company, he didn’t feel a sense of responsibility to take care of them or support them like the head of a family. However, Eugene’s resolute attitude made it seem as though her very purpose of existence was aligned with that responsibility.

Even so, Hisha still had more to say.